Question: The geometric sequence $(a_i)$ is defined by the formula: $a_i = -5 \left(-\dfrac{1}{4}\right)^{i - 1}$ What is $a_{2}$, the second term in the sequence?
Answer: From the given formula, we can see that the first term of the sequence is $-5$ and the common ratio is $-\dfrac{1}{4}$ The second term is simply the first term times the common ratio. Therefore, the second term is equal to $a_2 = -5 \cdot -\dfrac{1}{4} = \dfrac{5}{4}$.